Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2012 14:44:28 -0700 From: Eric James <eric.z.james@live.com> Subject: I wanna know what love is chp 18 This fictional story contains sex and graphic violence between underage minors. All normal legal warnings apply. Story should not be used, duplicated or re-written without the consent of the author as the author holds the copy right to the story. Please feel free to send all comments and suggestions to my email eric.z.james@live.com - the wonderful people at nifty.org would like us to remind the loyal readers to donate if you can, the site could use all the help it could get to stay in operation, every dollar counts - I wanna know what love is chp 18 The small group of friends sit waiting in the waiting room of the hospital, Ms Talley spoke to the charge nurse who was a friend of hers but all she could tell her was that Jules was in critical condition and the doctor would be out soon to update her. Aiden sat far away from DeMarco and Kodi both but refused to leave the waiting room, his face was bruised and starting to swell and he had a bloody lip, but he hid it as best as he could from his mother. Caden ran into the waiting room with John Fairbanks, Amy, DeMarco and Aiden did a double take at that. They all knew about what John had done to Caden, but they weren't aware of the fact that they had made up and were becoming friends as well as the fact that John was gay and out of the closet, that information hadn't gotten that far around the school. Kodi was the only who seemed unfazed by seeing the two of the come into together, they ran straight to him and spoke in whispered tones. Caden started to shake with tears and was led to a seat by John while Kodi continued to pace. "What is he doing here?" Amy asked Kodi, indicating John. "Now's not really the time, but you should ask him and Caden, it's not my story to tell" he told her. Minutes later Connor walked in and went straight for Caden and pulled him into his arms, not really knowing what else he could do. After that Caleb showed up with a very worried look on his face, he walked over to John, grabbed his hand and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Again; Amy, DeMarco and Aiden had to do a double take at that, they were very confused. "What the hell is going on with this?" Amy asked John, very confusedly. "This is my boyfriend Caleb" he said, looking at Amy and DeMarco "Jules, Caden and I have worked past what happened and have been hanging out. I'm not going to say why or when because it's not important" Amy wanted to argue but Caden gave her a look and shook his head so she left it a lot. Just then the doctor came out to address the crowd. "Where are Jules' parents?" the doctor asked. "His father is out of the country" Kodi replied before anyone else could speak. "Well who is responsible for him?" the doctor asked. Ms Talley was going to speak but was cut off by Kodi. "I am" Kodi said "I am his legal guardian in his father's absence" "Since when?" Ms Talley argued. "Stellan signed the medical power of attorney papers before he left a few weeks ago" "Why would he do that?" she asked. "Because I'm of age, because Jules and I are together, because he didn't want too much involvement that had anything to do with your son and because I work for Stellan" "Does Jules know you work for Stellan" Amy asked worried. "Yes he knows...enough with this for right now" he said then turned to the doctor "Tell me what's wrong with him" "He is a few broken ribs that will heal in time, his spleen has ruptured and is now about to be removed. I looked at his file and saw that he was here a few months ago due to a brutal attack and his spleen was ruptured but repaired them, well now it's coming out. His nose was broken and due to trauma to the left side of his head, he may loose his hearing in that ear but we aren't sure yet, he is still in surgery. I'll come back and let you know anything as soon as the surgeons tell me" Everyone sat down to wait, except Kodi who kept pacing back and forth looking like he was on the verge of a break down. He silently blamed himself for what happened, he kept going over the different what else scenarios in his head and they made him feel worse. He knew he couldn't call Stellan due to the mission he was on, that's why he gave Kodi power of attorney to make minor medical decisions, but he knew he needed someone else to help him make choices if it became too difficult and the only person that came to mind was Damian. He placed the call, and after speaking to Damian for about ten minutes, was told that he would arrive at the hospital no later then midnight. Kodi couldn't relax until he knew for sure that Jules was ok, his lover's friends were starting to worry about him but he only half paid attention to them when they asked if he wanted something to eat or drunk. After taking a moment outside to get some fresh air and to clear his head, he came back inside and sat down next to Amy. "So you work for Stellan?" she asked. "Yes" "And Jules knows?" "Yes" "When did he find out?" "The night we became an official item" "Why didn't he tell me, he used to tell me everything?" "I don't presume to know why Jules has stopped talking to you about such thing" Kodi said rather annoyed with her "Actually I take that back, I do know" "Well..." "Because every time you guys have been around each other, all you do is talk about your brother. You won't shut up about him, trying to get Jules to see that he should be patient and give you brother a chance. Did you ever actually stop to realize that Aiden broke his heart and Jules wanted nothing more to do with him, and you bringing him up was a constant reminder of the hurt Jules had to go through" Kodi said growing more irritated. "Well I didn't realize I guess" he said with an attitude "What is it that you do for Stellan any ways?" "You know Stellan and what he does for a living and you wanna ask me what I do for him?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. "Well we have the right to know who Jules is dating and who he has in his home, we are family" "You have no rights, if you did then I wouldn't be the one Stellan entrusted with his only son, and you call yourself his family...family wouldn't have known that he was going to be attacked and beaten within an inch of his life for a second time and not do anything to prevent" he yelled, shaking with anger. "What the hell does that mean?" Ms Talley asked in a hostile tone. "Ask your precious son...he was friends with the boys who did this, they told him they were going to do it and he didn't do anything about it, he let it happen and the other day when the boy started a confrontation with Jules...calling him a fag and a rapist for kissing your son, Aiden just stood there and let it happen...You asked, what I do for Stellan. At a very young age I developed a set of skills that would make me a really bad enemy to have" he spat before he stalked out of the waiting room. Ms. Talley gasped in horror at his words and Aiden shivered in fear. About and hour later, the same doctor they spoke to before came out to inform them that Jules was out of surgery. Kodi was told that Jules did indeed lose the hearing in his left ear and due to being kicked in the head and having previous head trauma, there was bruising on his brain and he was unconscious and unable to be woken up. Kodi's knees buckled and John caught him before he could fall. A nurse had moved Jules to a room in the ICU for recovery and was only going to two people to see him very briefly. Kodi would have taken Ms. Talley or Amy with him, but she took her kids home in fear after the confrontation with Kodi, so DeMarco walked with him to see Jules. He looked so small in the hospital bed, his chest was wrapped in bandages as well as the side of head and part of his face, he was also on a respirator and had an i.v. in both arms. Despite being covered in bandages, Jules looked peaceful in his sleep but it was still too much for DeMarco to take, he was flooded with memories of the first time he found Jules as well as finding his own brother dead. He gave Jules a kiss on the forehead before fleeing the room. Kodi didn't know what to do; he stood there for a while and just stared at him for a while. He sat down next to him next to Jules and held his hand and laced his fingers with his lover's. He felt so helpless and started to cry. Time had passed and Kodi still sat there hold Jules' hand, he felt bad for leaving people out in the waiting room but he couldn't leave. Nurses constantly came into the room to tell Kodi that he had to go but he yelled at all of them and finally they took the hint to leave him alone. After a while; he rested his head on the bed, still holding his hand and fell asleep. **************************************************** Many hours had passed and Kodi still slept with his head resting on the side of Jules' bed. He was totally unaware that Damian had showed up and was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the hospital bed, he was also unaware that Jules had woke up ten minutes ago and was lightly stroking the side of Kodi's sleeping face. "I said I'm not leaving" Kodi mumbled as he stirred at the touch on his face. He heard Damian chuckle and he opened his eyes to see Jules awake and petting his face. "Oh my God babe you're awake, the doctor made it seen like you were in some kind of coma" Jules looked at confused as if he didn't understand what he was talking about. "No he wasn't in a coma" Damian said with a frown "One of the doctors gave him something to he would sleep and not move for a few hours, that's all" "You came for me didn't you?" Jules whispered. "Of course I did" Kodi said, standing up give him a light kiss "I'll always come for you" "You should go home and get some sleep" Jules told him. "No. I can't...I can't leave you...something will happen if I leave" "Nothing is going to happen to me, and Damian is here...you should rest" "I love you and I'm not leaving" Kodi said as he kissed Jules again. The words "I love you" brought a smile to Jules' face and a flutter to his heart, he knew Kodi meant them. ******************************************* It was now the next morning and Jules was wide awake and being examined by his doctor and getting ready to have a quick sponge bath. Most of his friends, minus Aiden were back in the waiting room with balloons and flowers after hearing that Jules was awake and doing well. Thankfully there was no swelling in the brain and the bruising was subsiding, his ribs would heal in time and recovery from having his spleen removed is minor. The only major problem was that Jules had lost the hearing in his left ear. Jules was now demanding to go home; he hated hospitals, the one his was in particularly. Dustin stood in the doorway of Jules' hospital room and signaled for Kodi and Damian to come out in the hall, Jules was talking to the doctor so he didn't notice. "I found out where they are at" Dustin said. "Where?" Damian asked. "They are all nursing their wounds at Dante's dad's place. His father is a truck driver and out of town right now" Dustin said "No one called the police so they just took off" "Then Damian and I will pay them a visit tonight" Kodi said with a smirk, he had a certain type of revenge planned in his head and the normally calm Kodi was excited about it. "I'm going too" Dustin argued. "You can't...if something happens, we can get out of it, you can't" Damian countered. "I can handle myself, I know how to fight" he said offended. "That's not what he means" Kodi interjected "if we got caught by the police or anything like that, ours job and the man we work for's reputation will get us out of it but not you" "You work for Jules's dad too?" Dustin asked Damian. "Yes...and so will Jules" "I want in" Dustin said. Damian smirked and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said "we'll see about that" *********************************************** Jules was allowed to go home two days after he was admitted to the hospital and all his friends were there waiting for him, even his new friends John Fairbanks and his boyfriend. You would have never guessed it by his past actions, but John the big scary bully-football player was actually a really great guy with a fantastic sense of humor and made it his mission to make Jules laugh as much as possible. Kodi propped Jules up on one of the couches in the family room in front of the TV and sat down to wrap his arms around him to keep him close. Despite the incident; Jules was doing ok, though he wished it never happened; it wasn't at bad as the last one and he was pleased that he at least took some down with him. He was a little sore but was just happy to be home and surrounded by people that actually really cared about him. As he sat in Kodi's arms; he looked across the family room that was bustling with his friend's activities. Damian and Dustin were playing videos games and was sitting rather closely and giving each other googly eyes, which made Jules happy. Caleb and John were in the kitchen cooking lunch...well actually Caleb was cooking and trying to teach John how to cook soul food. The bi-racial couple looked extremely cute together. Caden and Connor sat on the other couch and couldn't keep their hands off each other. Caden had become like a little brother to Jules and he was glad that he was with someone that Jules trusted. Jules sat back happy knowing that his mother would have loved it; she loved when Jules had his friends over. The only couple not there was Amy and DeMarco; they had been fighting over the incident. Amy was trying to defend her brother's actions and DeMarco was having none of it, he didn't want any negativity around Jules so he told him he would be by to see him later that evening. "I think I'm going to sleep down here for a few days, I don't think I'll be able to make it up the stairs just yet" Jules told Kodi after kissing his hand. "That's going to be uncomfortable" Kodi replied. "What will?" "Both of us sleeping on the couch" "Not the couch" Jules said with a laugh "In the master-bedroom" "That's going to be weird" Kodi said with a grin and kissing Jules on top of his head. "How will that be weird?" "Because your dad sleeps in there" "He hasn't slept in there since my mom died, I tried to make him but wouldn't. I've slept in there more then he has" "I guess it would be so bad, and it is a high school fantasy to have nasty dirty sex in your lover's parent's bed" Kodi said, leaning over to kiss Jules on the lips. He loved Kodi's kisses; Jules didn't know what he would be able to do if he couldn't have them any more. When Kodi kissed him this time, Jules played the moment Kodi told him that he loved him inside his head and now his kiss said the same thing, there was love behind that kiss and it made Jules shiver. "So what you two do to them?" Jules asked Kodi, still wrapped in his arms. "What are you talking about?" Kodi replied trying to sound innocent, he knew what Jules was asking about, but didn't know how he knew and he really didn't want him to know. "I may be deaf in one ear but I'm not dumb I see things, don't forget whose son I am. I know Damian better then I know myself and I think I know you pretty well too...so no lies, what did you do?" "Well..." Kodi said with a sigh "We had a long and very pointed discussion that may have left some people bloody, and then we set the house on fire. I'm surprised it's not in the paper" "Did you leave them in the fire or pull them before?" Jules asked in a very indifferent tone, he had a feeling there was going to be a fire, Damian had a very secret obsession with fire that only Jules knew about. If Stellan hadn't promised to deal with the West boys himself, Damian probably would have lit them up. Jules shook that thought from his head before it went any further. "Yes we pulled them out so they could watch it burn, it was quite an effective way of letting them know to step off...so...you're not mad?" "No, I'm not mad" **************************************************** Ms. Talley was both angry and disappointed at her son; she couldn't stand to look at him. The two families had been close for years and Jules was like a son to her, she made Aiden promise to always look after him no matter what and he dropped the ball in a major way, she took to working more hours at her job so she wouldn't have to be home to deal with it. It had been just over a week since Jules was jumped and she checked on him everyday before she went home from work. Kodi had apologized for his outburst at the hospital but she understood. Amy was also very angry with her brother, the situation had caused a major rift between her and DeMarco and it looked like they were on the verge of breaking up. DeMarco knew that she was only defending Aiden because he was her twin, but DeMarco was raised to believe right is right and wrong is wrong and what Aiden did or failed to do was wrong. "Ade, you have to help me understand something" Amy said, sitting next to her brother on the couch where he was sulking like he had been doing for the past week. "What...what do you want?" he asked annoyed. "I just want to know what changed. You and Jules were close, very close...so close it made me jealous, you were like brothers. You used to beat up people who picked on him and called him names; you would never stand for it. Then you tell him that you love him and you find out that he loves you back and it's perfect right?...then you guys get caught kissing and you totally left him hanging, you said nothing, you messed up your relationship before it even got started...that's messed up but whatever, it was your fault but after that you totally forgot that Jules was still a brother to you...to us. You left him hanging twice, and he ended up in the hospital because of it, the normal you would have never let that happen in a million years no matter what...I just want to know why" "I should have never told him that I loved him...it's your fault you know" he said to his sister "you kept pushing and pushing and pushing for me to tell him, now look where it's got me" "Don't blame your fuck-up on me, I told you to tell him because you loved him and you both deserved to be happy...YOU FUCKED IT UP, and you want to blame me?... this situation may cost me my boyfriend because he is appalled by you and wants to kick you ass, yet I'm doing nothing but defending you...You betrayed Jules, he was your brother and you betrayed him...if you did it to him, it makes me wonder what you'll do to me" "I don't know Amy" he said with a sigh "I know I broke his heart, and I think seeing that broke my heart, knowing that I was the one who hurt him nearly killed me. After that I couldn't seem to function right. I tried to apologize, I wanted to make it right but he wouldn't have it...you know how Jules is, he doesn't take disrespect and disloyalty well, he'll cut you completely off but I figured it was me so he would give me a chance...my one chance at happiness and I fucked it up...and now I'll never got the chance to make it right" he said, starting to cry. His sister pulled him into a hug and let him cry on her shoulder. "Not right now you won't" she said softly "Kodi doesn't want you anywhere near Jules and you can't blame him, but Damian is still here and wants you to explain it to him. I know you get nervous talking to him, but maybe he'll help you make it right" he said, trying to soothe her brother. "Maybe" he said "Maybe" (Author's Note) Those are some heavy words from Amy. This one I wanted to put out in kind of a rush, I hope I did it justice. Email me with any questions or comments eric.z.james@live.com (characters) http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/JulesBarrett.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/DamianJohanson.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/AidenTalley.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/DeMarcoGiordano.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/JoshuaWest.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/JacobWest.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/StellanBarrett.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/AmyTalley.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/ChristianAnderson.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/ConnorBrixton.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/JohnFairbanks.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/CadenStallworth.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/DustinHansen.png http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/KodiArchuleta.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/DanteMonroe.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/CalebJennings.jpg